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| "Shadow of the willow, dense and twined" |
My shodo offering this time is particularly lyrical: the kanji for willow, entwine, dense, and shadow. Put together they paint a picture of bright sunshine on a willow tree whose branches make a dark tangle of shadows on the ground.
In the world of Japanese haiku, which being a written art is closely linked to the world of shodo, the willow, or yanagi, is a seasonal word for the month of April. Yet, although it is now the end of May, you'd be forgiven for thinking it were still April in Tokyo, being so cool and the air still so dry.
It has been almost a week since I properly practiced, and, having the whole day to myself, I wanted to get my offering this time looking right. But, perfection eluded me as usual, in spite of doggedly pursuing it for three hours. After dozens of tries, half of which I gave up on halfway through, I finally settled on this one above. See below for the competition it faced.
In the meantime, a little willow poem.
A willow hangs like veils
fingering long and reedy
the air, that glitters to the sound of birds,
in whispers around its thighs
Except when rain
washes off from the ground
the long black plaits of shadow
and the willow
wet and gleaming
in six grays and seven greens
twists and glissandos
clinging and breathing
to the brisk wind
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| The candidates for today's shodo blog! |
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